THE Young Socialists held a very successful meeting, on the evening of the first day of the BMA Annual Representative Meeting (ARM) in Harrogate, to promote their March for Jobs from London starting on August 19th to the TUC Conference in Liverpool.
The meeting was attended by 10 doctors, who gave their enthusiastic support the march.
Jonty Leff chaired the meeting, saying: ‘At the BMA Conference and in the country there is a massive feeling to defend the NHS.
‘In every town and city we march through from London to Liverpool it will be a big issue. We want everyone to join in with our march. This is a weak government, Cameron is in a massive crisis, it’s time to bring the government down. We want a workers government and socialism.’
First speaker, Young Socialist editor Paul Lepper, said: ‘This BMA Conference is happening at an important time. The NHS is under attack, this government is out to slash and burn and destroy the NHS.
‘They are attacking it from two sides – GPs and hospitals. They are out to cut and privatise and get American-style healthcare. People can’t afford it. £20 billion has already been cut from the NHS, another £30 billion is threatened.
‘Ninety-eight GP surgeries face going bankrupt. It’s the same with the fire service and the postal service. These zero-hours contracts are everywhere. They are trying to turn young people into cheap labour.
‘The march brings together all of these struggles, whether it’s the NHS, colleges, or schools being turned into academies. This government is waging war on the Welfare State, we have to fight back. We do need a workers government and socialism. Labour have betrayed, they’ve stabbed young people in the back.
‘But this government is weak, they are only able to carry on because the union leadership has been too weak to take on the struggle. The TUC has considered the practicalities of the General Strike, it’s time to call it.
‘We are calling on everyone to raise support for the Young Socialists. This system cannot provide for what we need and it needs to be got rid of. This is a vital time for people to stand up and fight for what we need, which is a workers government.’
Lancashire GP, David Wrigley, a BMA Council member, said: ‘I’ve worked with Anna (Athow) fighting the Health and Social Care Act. We saw from the outset what it meant, but there was a failure by the media and by the democrats to show this.
‘It’s a slow privatisation, hiding behind the NHS. Gordon Brown told McKinsey we have to make these £20 billion cuts. A lot of people don’t realise the damage austerity is doing.
‘To invest in the country and infrastructure can help people. PFI is handing millions of pounds back to the private sector for profits. Foundation Trusts are as good as businesses, free from constraints from the Department of Health.
‘The NHS has a £2 billion surplus. It’s not sent back to healthcare, it’s back to the Treasury. They’re cutting funding to General Practice because of political choice.’
He gave an example in Newcastle, where Care UK was given a contract to run a GP practice, then this year they announced they are not continuing. It’s because there are not enough profits. Patients suffer.
‘Alan Milburn was an MP in the north east. He set up a system that allows people to profit from the NHS.’
He concluded by calling for a campaign to repeal the Health and Social Care Act and restore the responsibility of the Secretary of State for health provision. He urged people to lobby MPs, warning ‘if the Tories get in next time, by 2020 we won’t have an NHS’.
A surgeon, Bob Price, said: ‘We all know the issues, young people, you must learn from the past, read your Marx, read Rosa Luxemburg, study the Paris Commune.
‘Practice solidarity, never compromise principles, unite the left – that will be difficult, never sacrifice principles for pragmatism, remember, philosophy has contemplated the world, the point is to change it.’
Anna Athow, BMA member and former Council member, said: ‘Our NHS is being step by step privatised.’
She outlined the attacks on the NHS by the last Labour government and then said: ‘The Tories brought in the Health and Social Care Act and have opened the door to the privateers.
‘After that everything has to go out to tender. When TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) comes in in November, it will be healthcare America coming in.
‘Now they talk about integration, meaning private providers and many subcontractors, they want to federate. Clinical Commissioning Groups can charge, they don’t have to set up services.
‘The recent march to defend GP practices in Tower Hamlets was electric. People value the personal contact they have with GPs. Now the government are trying to break that up.
‘They’ve invited back Simon Stevens, reconfiguration is to be accelerated, there’s only going to be 40-70 District General Hospitals left in England. We’ll just be left with local hospitals – that would be a disaster.
‘The government is selling the insurance model under the slogan of integration. We did everything we could to fight our BMA leadership. They changed their words, but wouldn’t take action.
‘The government does get it – they are smashing up the NHS. Unless we do something, they will get away with it. It’s not just the NHS it’s everything – schools, colleges, the fire service and council services.
‘They are coming for the entire Welfare State. The banks are bankrupt, we are reaching the point of another crash.
‘There has to be deeds, not just words. It needs the strength of the whole working class. We need a general strike and to force the government to resign. That’s why the Young Socialists March is so timely.’
One of the marchers, Nash Campbell, said: ‘This government is all for cuts. In 2010 they brought in increased tuition fees and a lot of students came out.
‘They are destroying the NHS today. It’s necessary that we fight. What we are fighting for is a new leadership. The NUS let students down. There’s millions of young people out of work, that’s why we want you to support our march from London to Liverpool.
‘We want a general strike. They are going to war all over the world, in 2003 they invaded Iraq for no reason. Look at Iraq today, there’s a civil war. They are privatising schools, our generation will not give in.’
Another marcher, J Ibs, said: ‘I agree we need a general strike. They’re attacking the health service, people are going to die.
‘I campaigned to save Chase Farm Hospital, they closed it. They should not have closed it. A young boy has already died because he couldn’t get hospital treatment in time.
‘We need to change the system, we need to get rid of capitalism, we need a system that cares and that is socialism.’
GP Bob Gill told the meeting: ‘They closed my local hospital and you could see the effect it was having, the final straw was being told, don’t worry, you’re not paying for it.
‘From that day onwards I worked with the Lewisham Hospital campaign. Not only the government, the media are keeping people in the dark. I talked to a group of doctors and we made this film.’
Dr Gill then showed a clip from his film entitled SELL OFF, which featured interviews with GPs, Consultants, whistleblowers and members of the public speaking out against the attacks on the NHS.
The film also showed scenes from the Lewisham Hospital struggle.
One of the interviewees, Professor Alison Pollock, said: ‘It’s about the system being driven by finance, it’s being driven from the top.’
Dr Gill said after the film show: ‘The best thing about this project is I met a lot of people who want to fight.’
He went on to say: ‘Managers are chosen who cover-up. There is a system in place which promotes certain managers who push down medical concerns. What is going on now is going to harm a lot of people. But like at Mid Staffs, they blame the staff.
‘Whistleblowers had allegations made against them to shut them up.’
Earlier, at the ARM, delegates voted almost unanimously for motion 119 to demand the ‘government legislates to rescind all PFI debt’ and ‘does not enter into any new PFI scheme’.
Mover Dr Gary Marlow, on behalf of London Regional Council, said: ‘PFI is robbing patient services.
‘The original cost was £12bn, the repayment cost is £70bn. For some trusts, PFI payments are a fifth of their budget, others are put into deficit.
‘Financiers are milking the NHS, services have been cut, the vulnerable are suffering. I call on government to rescind all PFI contracts and bring this travesty to an end.’
There were no speakers against, so conference chair Dr Ian Wilson put that the vote be taken, this was agreed and it was passed with just one vote against.
Delegates went on to resoundingly reject NHS charging.
They voted overwhelmingly for motion 120 to reject a ‘means tested monthly levy’, and ‘charges for either GP or hospital appointments to pay for social care’, and to demand ‘funding for long-term social care is resolved without jeopardising the principles of the NHS’.
Mover Dr Helena Keown said: ‘Social care is means tested, leading to suffering.
‘A means tested levy to pay for the NHS is not the answer. A £10 fee would be another tax. The government should collect income tax that is being avoided. We need the help of the bankers and super-rich tax evaders.
‘We do not need to put a barrier to vulnerable people who need NHS care.’
Mr Arrash Yassee warned: ‘We will face a huge financial black hole if health and social care is integrated.’
Dr John Chisholm added: ‘It’s a grave mistake to think lack of funding for the NHS can be resolved by co-payment. It will increase health inequalities. User fees shift cost to those who use the system, that is sick people. Patient charges have perverse and damaging consequences and they undermine the founding principles of the NHS.’
BMA Council Chair called on delegates to vote for the motion, saying: ‘Funding is a matter of choice.
‘Governments who make that choice should recognise they are failing the people of this country.’
In her right of reply to minor reservations on the motion’s wording, Dr Keown said: ‘I never, never want to charge my patients. The NHS is affordable and it should not be made to be paid for by the sick, vulnerable and elderly people.’
The ARM went on to vote overwhelmingly for motion 139 from the Agenda Committee stating: ‘That this Meeting believes that combining all sectors into Health Maintenance Organisation style bodies would harm patient care and should be actively resisted.’
Moving the motion on behalf of the London Regional Council, Anna Athow said: ‘The government is proposing GPs should be in networks as part of multi-specialist “teams”.
‘They will be concerned with outputs, which could be financial. US insurance company Kaiser Permanente is held up as a model. Profit is made by reducing services utilisation. Co-payments are charges. Doctors are incentivised to harm patient care.
‘Health Maintenance Organisation specialist networks are the last piece in the puzzle to introduce privatisation. The BMA should ballot for industrial action to resist this.’
Speaking in support, Dr Bob Gill said: ‘The end-game is a US-style insurance system. This will cost more, deliver less and worse care. The profession will be weakened further.
‘The final phase is being orchestrated by ex-United Health Global boss Simon Stevens. Their man is running the NHS! Federation is code for the mass closure of GP practices with the remainder to face corporate takeover by the likes of Serco, UH or G4S. Integration means public funds into corporate profits.’
